Today’s Ambassador is little changed from the post-World War II Morris Oxford, on which it is based. The car became a symbol of India’s political class and later became popular among taxi drivers in many parts of the country, largely because of its spacious dual bench seats and robust build quality.

The threat to the Ambassador comes not long after Volkswagen AG called a halt to production in Brazil of its classic camper van, another coelacanth of the global car business. The VW microbus that ferried American hippies from one Grateful Dead concert to another exited the U.S. market long ago thanks to tougher safety and clean air rules.